20120304

peanut ginger noodles

I've been playing with asian dishes for a while, and on Friday I finally hit on a combination that works well: peanut ginger noodles. There are two tricks involved: first, I rely on soy sauce for saltiness only (as opposed to using it as a main flavor), and second, I add water along the way to prevent the dish from sticking to the pan.

Start by putting water on to boil for the noodles; when ready, cook them to taste and strain. In the meanwhile, heat a wok with sesame oil and sauté the onion. When it starts to soften, add in the garlic and ginger. When this starts to brown, add the peanut butter, vinegar, rooster sauce, and soy sauce, mixing until the peanut butter is evenly distributed. If at any point hereafter, the misture starts to stick, add just enough water to loosen it up. Adjust flavor to taste. Add the bok choy and bell pepper and cook until beginning to soften. Add the bean sprouts and sesame seeds, and cook until the sprouts are no longer crispy. Mix in the noodles and the peanuts. Serve! (This also keeps excellently for the following day.)